Sunday, March 28, 2010

BIRDS - WHAT THEY GET UP TO

On this grotty first day of BST (Summer, my foot. It's just a ruse to disrupt our sleep), I got to thinking about our wildlife, which I do vaguely think about daily, since they are all around anyway.

Yesterday, I watched crows demolish my firm attachment of fat balls to the feeder stand. I managed to recover one net hook, and today attached a new net, with a fat ball in it, to the fence. The fat balls don't seem so prone to demolition in that position. The seed feeder does sway in the wind, encouraging small and medium sized birds to sit on the grass expectantly waiting for their manna to drop from heaven. They then ferociously peck away at grass level. The crows, clever observers that they are, move onto the feeder stand and with their beaks, bodies and sometimes their heads, help the seed holder to sway a bit more. That way there is plenty for all the feathered creatures that are gathered.

The peanut holder is heavy; the apex roof on it is supposed to keep the nuts drier than they might otherwise be if totally exposed. This treat is not without little morsels and residue. A bit of shaking, if there's no real wind, adds to the feed haul already on the grass.

Today, I saw a greenfinch:
P1020413 Greenfinch
The picture was taken some distance away and inside the house, to avoid disturbing the visitor
Shortly after, this rather podgy and well coloured bird appeared. It looks like the common garden Sparrow that is supposed to be in decline.
P1020419 Sparrow 2

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

They're always fascinating to watch!
I'd love to see a greenfinch, and sparrows are about but I don't see them out the back sadly. Flighty xx

ZACL said...

I have seen a few Greenfinches. The sparrow interested me because of his rich plumage, richer than the ordinary sparrow that we usually see. A bit of investigation led me to believe that the sparrow I saw was a hedge sparrow.

There have been a number of crows about again, and quite a few Thrushes today.

xx

zewt said...

Hi... this may give you some picture on why ppl leave... :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBHAMp0-bLc

ZACL said...

Hello Zewt,

How are you? Thanks for the link, it was most informative, as well as having a very good commentary.

I guess you will be emigrating soon.

The birds that visit my garden wouldn't be swooping around the UK or other islands, for the same reasons as yours!

;)